Improvement in braiding-machines



A 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. J{D.BUTLBR.

' BRAIDlNG MACHINE.' No. 92,938. Patented July 27,1869".

Jjllu'tlLBl..y BRAIDING MACHINE.

Patented July 27,1869.

lia-92,938.

3 sheetssheen 3.

J.D.BUTLBR. BRAIDING MAoHNB.

No. 92,938. Patented July 27, 1869 HEM |l` Ill Il Il Jay. 11.

unina eine @strut @tilting Letters Patent No. 92,938, dated July 27.1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN BRIDINGMACHINES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom 'it 'may concern.:

Be it known that I, JAMES D. BUTLER, of Lancaster, county of Worcester,and State .ot Massachusetts, have invented a new anLLiln proved-Bradingltiachine; and I do hereby declare the ibllowing to be a fulldescription thereof', reference being had to the aecompanying drawings,making a part of this specification.

lhis machine is of the class in which' threads running froni diiierentspools are braided together, either upon a strand or core, or 'simplyupon each other, by the proper motion being given to the spools.

lo furnish better means of accomplishing this work than have heretoforebeen known, is the object of my invention.

In the accompanying chawings- -Figure 1 represents a top view of themachine; Figlue 2, a front view; v

Figures 3, 4, and' 5, dilerent views of. one of the travellers;-

Figure 6, a vie-w of the top of one of the travellers of a diii'erentform ti'om the other;

Figure .7, an elevation, in part' sectional, of a modified form ofthedrivers and travellers, 85e.;- l

Figures 8 and 9, two elevations of a modified form of the vtravellersand tension-weights, Ste.;

Figures 10, 11, and 12, anelevatiou and horizontal sections of amodiiiedforni of the drivers; and

Figure 13, an elevationof a modified form of' the travellers andtensi0n-weights, Ste.

Figs. l and 2 are drawn to la scale one-half that of'gm 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8, 9, l0, 11, l2, and 13.

Although .the inachineis adapted to the use of eight travellers orspool-carriers, but two of these are shown, since they are suiiicient toset forth the invention, and a representation of more would tend onlyVto confuse.

1n ligs. 1 and 2 the travellers are shown without the spool,spool-catch, tension-weight, Sto., these all being distinctlyrepresented. in figs. 3,4, and

In figs. 1 and 2- A is the bed-plate# B, the lower table;

C, the outer part of the upper table; and

C', the inner part ofthe upper table.

. The connection between A and B is by, F F F and the lower part .of G.f

Between A and C the conncctiouis made by -E E' and G.

The inner part C of the upper table is supported from B by-tlie upright0( I n the dri ver-plates are slots la, which hohl the. necks a a' ofthe travellers.

in the bearings A* and A..

The' gear H2 is fast upon the shatt H, which turns When H, is turned,therefore, the drivers are turned through the gearing H H, Hs, tec.

The bottom endsl ofL the travellers are shaped to rnn l in the tracks bb b, &e.,.and b b b', die., and have each atlange, which bears upon theupper surface of B, thuss'upporting the weight of the travellers.y

The tracks would eut the pla-te B into separate pieces, were it not thatthe ribs I), 1) &c., held them together. It would answer, if preferred,to cut the tracks only part way through the plate, and dispense with theribs b2, 8vo.-

The-upper ends ofthe travellers are guided by the upper table O C. Ofcourse, the edges of the plates against which the travellers bear, keepthem from getting out of their course on the one side. To keep' themagainst these edges, however, some special pro;- vision is needed, andthis is supplied by having the traveller'tops hookedt'o catch upon thellanges'c'e-d-o, or c cpcc, on thel plates .O Gz Half ofthe travellersrun in the track b b b b, and the others'in b b 7; b. Those which, likethe traveller I, run'in b b' b 11", are hooked to catch upon the ribs cc' c c', on the under sides of the plates' 0 0'.. Those, which like J,run in b b b b, are hooked to catch upon the ribs'cccc, which are on theupper sides of C and C.

The particular form I have given to the hooked traveller-tops, and tothe ilanges on the plates, may be made more' plain by a. reference toiigs.v 3, 4,5, and 6.

` In ligs'. 4 and 6, the plates are shown shaded, as in `cross-section.The shape given is apparent from the drawing, in connection with theexplanation already wen.

g' The rib c, under and opposite to c, is for the flange J on thetraveller to bear against, to keep the traveller from lifting. It is notabsolutely needed.

It will answer, and in some cases muy be preferred, to have all thetravellers catch upon ribs, on the same sidel of the upper tables likeI, upon ribs c', on the under side, or like J, upon ribs c, on the upperside.

Thev traveller-top must belong enough to'reach om the outer part G'totljeinner part C' of the table, so that in running, it may catch uponthe one before it leaves the other.

With the traveller, as shown in figs. 3 and 4, the spool, thetension-weight, Ste., are between the necks a a', against which theedges ofthe slots h, in the upper and lower driver-plates H H',respectively bear.v

' In g. 7 there is also shown a modified form of the driver H h4 h., H5,such as allows the abandonment ot' the bed-plate A, figs. 1 and 2, and,in general, a simpier construction, the lower table B serving as' bed-`plate, as Well 'as table.

, The studs D, 86o., are fastened to B, asmayalso bev the standards E Eand the post G. Instead of the -.gear H and the driverfplate H,

there-may be used the gear H5, with the slots h in it.

Thisr gear has a double row ol teeth, h, representlng the upper, and hthe lower row.

1 The space between them is represented at hr The tclth-inthe one rowcome opposite the spaces inthe ot er.

It would answer tor have only one row of teeth, in some cases.

The 'sleeve Mh4 turns upon the stud D, and H1 and H5'are fastened to itfirmly and turn withit. This sleeve may be a piece of the brass tubingwhich has now become an article of regular manufacture, and which itmaybe more convenient to use than tofmake va sleeve especially for theplace.

Another form of the 'driver'is shown in figs. 10, Il, and' 1 2, theformer being 4an elevation, and the others, sections across 1 2. i

The drawings need'but little explanation,

The teeth in the'o'ne gear may be settocome opposite to the spaces inthe other, as seen in aline parallelwith-` the axis of the driver, asrepresented; or the teethiu the two may bein the same line parallel withThe flangesH are to give the proper shape to the edges of the slots,which bear against the traveller- The details of' the traveller and Vitsaccompanying parts will be understood from gs'. 3, 4,-.and 5.

The spool K is .held in place by the spindle K'.

The upper end of this spindle is forked,to fit around the part J' of thetraveller, and its lower end is supported ou the horn J?. lt maybe takenout by being raised, and having its lower end swung over the h'orn.

The piece L, guided uponthe rod 0,"at Land L, catches ,upon the pins kk, 8vo., on the spool, to keepI thalatherA from turning freely. 5Theendof L is guided between the body of the traveller and thehook Ijff.The rod O is supported by the ears M M'..

`The 'tensiorr'weight P, as Vwell as the catch L, a1- ready referredtto,slides upon this rod.

.In one side of P there is a groove, P', in which ,run the wire Q' Q Q,andthe sdgeof the rib R.

TheV shoulder or Wing Rf limits the upward movement of the weight. Thevwire Q Q. Q" serves as' a sort ofhook, around which-thethread runs. Asthis wire is hooked under the'weight, the lattermay be raised byit. l

The thread is easily-traced iu the drawing, running 4from the -spoolthrough the hole S; from S .round Q and from thence 'through the hole SS". As

the traveller runs .in its track' aroundvthe machine, ap'- preachingtcor receding'from the braiding-point, theA thread draws Vand slackensalternately, irst raising Q QQ", and through it, P, and then allowingthem to fall.

When more thread is needed inthe running ci' the machine, the end Q'cfthe whois lifted vagainst the ear If' ofthe spool-catch, and raising thecatch from. a pin, k, allows the spool to turn 'and let olithe threadrequired. y The shoulder B' is sopla/ced as to stop the weight, andprevent its striking' the spool-catch.

Heretoforeit has been customary tc have the catch raised by the strikingof the weight against it; To this,

however,.there has been'v the very serious objection that riuany attemptvat rapid runningof 4the machine, the uncontrolled momentum oftheweight, when sud-` denly raised, has carried `the weight against thecatch, 'Boas to lift-the latter and let oli' thread from the spool, whenno. more was needed orcould betaken care of, the effect of which istomake the thread so slack that good braid will` not `be made. This defecthas very narrowly limited the speedof braiding-machines'. h Now,inasmuch as in my arrangement. the wire Q Q" des freely in thegroove P'of `the weight, so that the end Q' may dnipdcunnpon the weight, and,

casas the weight itself cannot touchthe catch or push .thev

lwire against it, the lettingof of the thread is alto gether beyond ,thereach of any disturbing influence from the jumping 0f the weight.

The momentum of the wire which actsupon the catch is of no'prac'ticalaccount, because the wire may, from the nature ofthe case, be verylight, but the `weight must be heavy enough to give the proper ten-`sion to the thread, and with the action of the weight,

as drawing upon the thread, my plan in no way inter# feres, themodicationit introduces beingv only in connectionwith the jumping of theweight. This 'part of my invention, by which the thread can act upon`the Vspool-catch, while` the weightA cannot, has been found in practiceto' be of great, consequence.

Figs. 7, 8, 9, and 11, give modied forms of the part of my inventionhaving reference to the action of the .i

thread upon the spool-catch. y l

The traveller in iig. 7 is in general so similar to that used in what iscommonly `known as the English braider, thatt is suicientfor me tovexplain the modications which I have introduced.

1Heretofore the wire hook T T3' has been fast to the weight T T, sothatit was virtuallya part of it. The

catch T was therefore raised by the striking against it of what wasvirtually the tension-weight.

I give to T" T3 a sliding motion 4in the weight,so that vwhile the endT3 is hooked, so that 'it cannpt draw out of the-weight, it may yetslide down upon the weight until T is' n contact with the top of theweight.

The pin T', which is fastened ic the weight, runs in a groove, h1' h, inthe tuheih, 71,. "Heretofore this pin has been so set that the-weightcould rise high enough to li the catchA T? out of the notch in thespool. `Iset the pin so' that the weight cannot act upon the catch.'v

The shoulder at h correspondswith the'Y shoulder E* in figs. 3, 4,. and5.

The sliding of T T? in the weight is like'the sliding of Q Q Q-"in itsweight.

' `In figs. 8 and 9 the tension-weight isrepresentcd hy' i U U uu,andthe spool-catch by`U U U". In this form of the invention itwill lheseen thereis no wire hook corresponding to Q' Q Q", the thread takinghold directly of the -weight,'and acting vdirectlyupon the h catch'.` o

It will he clear from the drawing that the thread runs from the spoolthrough the hole u", then over the corner of the weight at u, thenAacross the hole U, then through the hole u', and. then through'u'"tothe braiding-point.

The hole U* is so lar e'that it will slide right overV the part' U" ofthe cato without raising it, but while the thread is drawing it isstretched across thelhole from 1u to u', so that it will, when it haslifted the weight suiliciently, strike against the `end U, and raise-the out of the .notch in the spool.l

If thefthread is as' it will be when'the weight jumps, it will not 'bestretched across the hole U,-and

the catch will not be raised.

The weight is prevented from striking the catch by the screw u, in theupright. i I

The spool. is represented as above'the upper-tables,

as in the form shown in iig. 7. h h i lIn iig. 13, the wire W' W1W"" W4W, which is raised directly by the thread, runs iu the notchesX ofthe.spool, and serves as the catch. It allows the spool to l turn when thecorner W"y is raised above X;

'The wire is guided by being Awound around W W,

atV W' vand W, and having its end-YW run in the cove W, Wz.

The. weight W is sup rtcdnpon the wire as shown.;

The piece W, ww is fas'te'nedtolll1 W, by the set-y` The thread runsfrom the spool iirst through w Vthen through wf", `and than through e' uthe miningpoint, the space between the top of W and the part W' of thecatch being vso great as to allow considerable jumpingvof the weightwithout its striking the catch.

jout of the-notches of the spool.

These several tension-weight and spool-catch arrangements are quitevaried in detail, and yet are but specimens of the different shapeswhich my invention may take and they might be multiplied almost withoutlimit; b t I believe that enough variety'in its forms of application hasbeen shown to make clear th'e comprel.ensi'feness of this partof myinvention, which includes the mechanism in which the spool-catch,separate from the Weight, is operated'by the thread acting eitherdirectly upon -1t or through a part distinct from the tension-weightproper.

In figs.}3, 4, and 5, the tube N encloses loosely the rod O O. It issupported upon the ear L of the spoolcatch, and on being raised, it willstrike against the ear M vof the traveller. Y

l have found that even when the spool-catch is protected from the actionof the tension-weight, as already 'explained,'it is yet liable to bejarred out of the notches of the spool in the rapid running of themachine. Noincrease in the weight of the catch in the least correctsthis trouble; but with a weight resting uponthe catch, which shall befree to rise without carrying the catch with it, the diiculty is. I ndin practice,

entirely removed. Any tendency the catch has to jump seemsto bealtogether transmittedto the weight which rests upon it. It is f coursenecessary that thel weight should be heavy enough to receive thisimpulse service. The tube N serves as this weight. It is made so shortas notv to prevent the catch from rising clear o f the pins on thespool. It in no way interferes with the raising of the vcatch by thesteady force exerted upon it when it should be raised to let oi thethread from the spool, except that it makes so much additional weight tobe raised. This combination of the spool-catch, and the weight supportedupon it, is not dependent upon the exact forms of these parts.

The vimprovements included. in this inventionare equally applicable tothe different varieties of braidingmachines used, including those formaking flat braid. The modifications required will be obvious to anyonefarniliar'with such machines.

lWhat -I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The hooked trave1lertops, substanti scribed.

2. The combination of the hooked traveller-topswith the upper table,substantially as described.

/3. The combination ofthe spool-'catch with its weight, 'Substantiallyasdescribed.

4. The means for operating the spool-catch by the thread,`undisturbed.by the jumping of the weight,

substantially as described'.

' JAMES D. BUTLER.

Witnesses:

0. H. WMnns, C. F. W. PAnKHURsr.

entirely. If made extremely light, it would not-be of

